We Are The Demons We Fear
by Reticeo
Summary: The villagers always hated, always feared, Naruto. They only ever saw him as a demon, a monster. They saw the claws, the teeth, the evil hate in the eyes, but I wonder. Did they ever realize that they were looking in a mirror?


_Here's my random one-shot, I don't own Naruto but I do own that poem. R&R please!_

_**We are the demons we fear**_

We worry and we fret over this child. It is not because we love him or care for him, it is because we fear and hate him.

The child that took away everything we held close, to watch it get ripped away from our very eyes, to see the nightmares and see the blood. To know the death of children, of adults, of friends, of family, of lovers, of rivals, of allies, of comrades, of our precious people, to see them ripped away. Then to see that _thing_ living with us, eating our food, _smiling._

We know why it is smiling. Simply because it is happy, happy it took away what is precious to it. Don't let it take anymore. Don't let the demon here, living with us.

We don't let it take away anything precious again, don't let it near our children, don't let it touch us…it might infect us. To bruise and beat it and to see it stand there, healing right before our eyes. To never be beaten down, to never be broken. So we can't let it, we can't let it be happy, because it is already, already too happy. Smiling, stop _smiling!_

We glare it at, growl and hiss, beat it down, but it never stops does it? It keeps on standing up and hurting us again. But…it never hurts us back. It never resists, it never fights against us, it never hurt us, it never hurt our children, it never smashed our buildings.

But it _did! _In the past it did! So…that's good enough reason right? It could do it again couldn't it? But it hasn't, not yet anyway! We have to stop it. Who cares what the Hokage says, it has to be stopped.

It is a demon and we are the ones who need to be protected not it! Yes, yes, that is why we hurt it that is why we take everything it never had and leave it with nothing. Stop it, stop _GODDAMN SMILING!!!!_

Naruto stared down at the small notebook in his hands, sitting contently on a rock. The sun was shining and the river behind him was flowing merrily. The birds flew over head singing and flying about, the trees bustled around the leaves swaying gently in the breeze.

Naruto's small stub of a pencil flew across the paper, making a chicken scratch mess that he likes to call writing.

Sasuke saw him, sitting there from across the river. He slowly walked over the river, chakra induced feet helping him.

The blonde's head was hunched over, his shoulders tense. Sasuke approached behind him stealthily, Naruto never suspecting a thing. He leaned over the blonde's shoulder and looked at what he was writing.

It was a poem.

On the top in barely readable script stated "_**We are the demons we fear"**_

Sasuke eyes scanned the paper quickly, reading the poem and not understanding. What was the dobe writing about anyway? This made no sense.

The poem simply read this :

_"We are the demons we fear"_

_Long horns_

_And cruel swift nails_

_Barring teeth, yellow with age_

_Green with mucus_

_And evil blood red eyes_

_Sparkling with rage_

_Burning with evil_

_The eyes of a monster_

_A huge body_

_Large and towering_

_Those eyes_

_Full of hate_

_Of vengeance_

_A monster that does nothing but kill_

_Disguised_

_Looking like everyone else_

_The horns vanish_

_The nails gone_

_The teeth normal_

_But the eyes_

_They stay the same_

_Still full of rage_

_Full of evil_

_Full of hate_

_You shiver in fear of this evil thing_

_This thing that brings only death and destruction_

_You have seen what it's done_

_You know what it can do_

_But I wonder_

_Did you ever realize?_

_You were looking in a mirror?_

Sasuke shook his head not understanding the poem. "Oi dobe, Kakashi is waiting for you lets move it." At that Naruto jumped from his sit, eyes wide with surprise

"BASTARD! DON'T SNEAK UP ON ME!" He yelled clutching the notebook to his chest protectively.

"Che, whatever, come on." Sasuke stated, turned and walked away.

Naruto gave a little growl but quickly followed.

But when Naruto's back was turned, Sasuke never did see the tears and the sadness that welled up in the blonde's eyes.

The deep sadness, how tired his eyes looked, of everything, of the village, of the hateful stares, of the world.

Sasuke never did realize he was looking into a mirror just like everyone else.

He never did realize that the smiles were fake.

_Ok, that was it, R&R!_


End file.
